Bermuda takes direct hit by major hurricane Nicole

KMSP - In just the 2nd time in history (since records began about 150 years ago) the tiny island of Bermuda gets a direct hit from a major hurricane.  The eye of Nicole began to pass over the nation just after 9am Minnesota time.  The hurricane was packing sustained winds of 125 mph making it a strong category 3 storm.  Central pressure was down to 953mb or 28.13 inches of mercury.  Many weather stations are now offline because they can’t handle those kinds of winds, but before going offline, the Weatherbug station in Hamilton recorded a wind gust of 124mph and central pressure at that location down to 28.42 inches of mercury.  Some of the satellite and radar images from the hurricane are shown above.  While the island is used to tropical systems, one of this magnitude is nearly impossible to be ready for on such a small scale.  I would expect the island to be heavily damaged for a while to come so your winter getaway plans probably shouldn’t include Bermuda this year.